The money Jets’ Wilkerson should consider before returning
By George WillisDecember 12, 2014 | 9:52pm
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It was easy to tell Mo Wilkerson was not in a good mood. Never the most cheerful of fellows, he wore the bah humbug look when reporters approached him Friday about the state of his turf toe and whether he’ll be able to play Sunday in Nashville against the Titans.
“I don’t know,” was about all Wilkerson offered. He is listed as doubtful and may not even travel with the team. It would be his third straight game missed after suffering his toe injury against the Bills.
“If he’s definitely not playing then we might not travel with him,” head coach Rex Ryan said of Wilkerson. “We’ll see. But he’s listed as doubtful. [Saturday] we’ll see what the trainers think.”
It seems a bit odd that a toe injury can cripple one of the top defensive linemen in the NFL. But we’ve seen before where the sprain of the ligaments around the big toe joint has turned into a lingering injury that players such as Ray Lewis and Deion Sanders had to suffer through.
That’s why Wilkerson should make sure he’s 100 percent healthy when he returns to the Jets.:smiley-violent001: And he shouldn’t be blamed if he considers shutting it down for the rest of the season. At the very least, he should be in no rush to get back to a Jets team that appears in no rush to re-sign him to a contract extension.
Certainly, Wilkerson wants to get back on the field and battle alongside his brothers. That’s the kind of player he is. But he’s only human if he thinks about his future as well.
Ryan seemed disappointed in Wilkerson’s progress this week. After missing the first games of his career, against the Dolphins and the Vikings, Wilkerson has practiced in a limited capacity this week.
“Dang, I was hoping he would be better than that,” Ryan said. “But we will see how it goes. I know he is uncomfortable trying to get used to the shoe and all of that. There is some pain there. But he is working at it.”
Wilkerson’s duty is to get healthy enough to get back on the field as soon as he can, and he’s trying with a special shoe that lessens impact on his toe. But the reality is the Jets are 2-11 with Wilkerson’s performance and future serving as one of the few bright spots. He has 4.5 sacks in a year in which the Jets’ numbers defensively are down across the board. But he remains one of the league’s best every-down linemen.
The Linden, N.J., native by way of Temple is finishing the fourth year of his rookie contract, making $1.2 million this season. The Jets already have exercised a team option for 2015 scheduled to pay him $6.7 million.
It sounds like a big raise, but Wilkerson will want to avoid that for two reasons: First it would be the final year of a deal with no further guaranteed money. Secondly, it will be about $16 million less than J.J. Watt will make next year.
Both entered the league as first-round draft picks in 2011, when the new collective bargaining agreement mandated drafted players receive four-year deals with the team getting a fifth-year option on first-rounders. The Texans redid Watt’s contract in September, reportedly worth $100 million with $21 million guaranteed.
Wilkerson may not be as dominant as Watt. But the Jets need a face on their franchise, and without an established quarterback, he is the next best thing. Jets fans watched Darrelle Revis walk out the door because he and the team could not do business. Wilkerson saw it, too. You would think the Jets want to avoid a similar scenario with Wilkerson.
Some of that $20 million in cap money general manager John Idzik didn’t spend this season was supposed to be earmarked for Wilkerson. He shouldn’t limp back on the field with some specially designed shoe until he gets it.
Regardless of how this eyesore of a season ends, one of the first priorities of the new GM will be to do the right thing by re-signing Wilkerson to an extension. He’s the closest thing to a star the Jets have in this season of darkness
By George WillisDecember 12, 2014 | 9:52pm
Modal Trigger
It was easy to tell Mo Wilkerson was not in a good mood. Never the most cheerful of fellows, he wore the bah humbug look when reporters approached him Friday about the state of his turf toe and whether he’ll be able to play Sunday in Nashville against the Titans.
“I don’t know,” was about all Wilkerson offered. He is listed as doubtful and may not even travel with the team. It would be his third straight game missed after suffering his toe injury against the Bills.
“If he’s definitely not playing then we might not travel with him,” head coach Rex Ryan said of Wilkerson. “We’ll see. But he’s listed as doubtful. [Saturday] we’ll see what the trainers think.”
It seems a bit odd that a toe injury can cripple one of the top defensive linemen in the NFL. But we’ve seen before where the sprain of the ligaments around the big toe joint has turned into a lingering injury that players such as Ray Lewis and Deion Sanders had to suffer through.
That’s why Wilkerson should make sure he’s 100 percent healthy when he returns to the Jets.:smiley-violent001: And he shouldn’t be blamed if he considers shutting it down for the rest of the season. At the very least, he should be in no rush to get back to a Jets team that appears in no rush to re-sign him to a contract extension.
Certainly, Wilkerson wants to get back on the field and battle alongside his brothers. That’s the kind of player he is. But he’s only human if he thinks about his future as well.
Ryan seemed disappointed in Wilkerson’s progress this week. After missing the first games of his career, against the Dolphins and the Vikings, Wilkerson has practiced in a limited capacity this week.
“Dang, I was hoping he would be better than that,” Ryan said. “But we will see how it goes. I know he is uncomfortable trying to get used to the shoe and all of that. There is some pain there. But he is working at it.”
Wilkerson’s duty is to get healthy enough to get back on the field as soon as he can, and he’s trying with a special shoe that lessens impact on his toe. But the reality is the Jets are 2-11 with Wilkerson’s performance and future serving as one of the few bright spots. He has 4.5 sacks in a year in which the Jets’ numbers defensively are down across the board. But he remains one of the league’s best every-down linemen.
The Linden, N.J., native by way of Temple is finishing the fourth year of his rookie contract, making $1.2 million this season. The Jets already have exercised a team option for 2015 scheduled to pay him $6.7 million.
It sounds like a big raise, but Wilkerson will want to avoid that for two reasons: First it would be the final year of a deal with no further guaranteed money. Secondly, it will be about $16 million less than J.J. Watt will make next year.
Both entered the league as first-round draft picks in 2011, when the new collective bargaining agreement mandated drafted players receive four-year deals with the team getting a fifth-year option on first-rounders. The Texans redid Watt’s contract in September, reportedly worth $100 million with $21 million guaranteed.
Wilkerson may not be as dominant as Watt. But the Jets need a face on their franchise, and without an established quarterback, he is the next best thing. Jets fans watched Darrelle Revis walk out the door because he and the team could not do business. Wilkerson saw it, too. You would think the Jets want to avoid a similar scenario with Wilkerson.
Some of that $20 million in cap money general manager John Idzik didn’t spend this season was supposed to be earmarked for Wilkerson. He shouldn’t limp back on the field with some specially designed shoe until he gets it.
Regardless of how this eyesore of a season ends, one of the first priorities of the new GM will be to do the right thing by re-signing Wilkerson to an extension. He’s the closest thing to a star the Jets have in this season of darkness
